What Alan Fletcher, author of The Art of Looking Sideways, was to graphic design in Britain, his friend Ivan Chermayeff (b.London, 1932; lives in New York) has been to America since the late 1950s – someone able to think in simple and memorable images that compress layers of information and commentary.
Like Fletcher, Chermayeff also makes little distinction between work and play. While working for major corporations, such as Mobil and Chase Manhattan Bank, his greatest pleasure was to sit down with stacks of scrap paper and old envelopes and turn them into collages of imaginary beings.
Born in London in 1932 and son of the one of Pavilion’s architects Serge Chermayeff, Ivan emigrated during the war with his family. This exhibition will be the first display of his work in Britain. Working initially with Robert Brownjohn, the famous and feted creator of the film titles for From Russia with Love, Chermayeff then formed a partnership with Tom Geismar, working on a wide range of projects, including book jackets, signage, museums and exhibitions.
The exhibition focuses on the personal side of work, in the context of a family of artists and designers which is now extending to three generations and with participation from June 14, an architecture practive run by Ivan’s son Sam Chermayeff and his partner Johanne meyer-Grohbrugge.
The exhibition is curated by Alan Powers, historian and critic of modern design, and Jane Won, De La Warr Pavilion Curator.